Car-door-operating mechanism



July 12, 1927. a B DOREY CAR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 22, 1923 2 Sheets-Shut 1 /N VE N 70/? Y Geo/v45 B/NET DoKEY G. B. DOREY GAR noon OPERATING MECM ISM J ly. 12', 1927. 1,635,171 v Q Q r s /NVENTOK W/T/VESSES G 0R65wn DOREY 605 ATTO NE) Patented July 12, 1927.

I ED '.:s'T ?r-.- s

GEORGE QB. .DOBIEY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNQR-TO ENTERPRISE RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, 01*. cHIoAGo, 'ILL NoIs, 'J-A' CORPORATION or ILLINOIS. I

=GAR DQOB- OIE;RATING MECHANISM.

Application filed a s e 22, 4923. Serial no}. 655,695.

,This invention relates toimprovements ,in car door operating mechanisms.

.It is-an object of myvinvention 'rto provide a simplified construction for eliminating the usualiorsional strain on 'adoor operating shaft when the dump doors-areinclose'd position, bydirectly supporting the door on the door operating "shaft.

,It-isia-lso an ob ect of my invention to avoid thefuse of unnecessary moving parts between .a, door and shaft. ,As is well known to those skilled th eart, there firetWo general-:methods of supporting' car doors in wide use, one of which;.employs a. sliding late-h or movable element; attached to the door and adapted to-rst on' the shaft When kthel-dooris in closed position; the other depends upon the bodilyfmovement ot'a shaft from a position adja-centhth'e .f fi'ee edge of the door to; a position under-the same. Both of :such methods bei ng dependent for their lockingaetion' on moving parts are necessarily complicated, nncert-ain in action and excessive in weight} and it v is the purpose of this inV-ent-ion to secure all the advantages of such operating mechanisms Without the. complications and disadyantages' inoidental there-to. Another object of-my invention is to provide-a door adapted to ;be raised by a-fiexibleelement winding on ashaft and tore- -lievethe flexible element of the Weight of the door at a, point v intermediate the opened and closed position. thereof. Anotherobjectof myoinventionis to pro- -vide a*rOtat-able -shaft which willinoize a door to fully, closedpositionand thereafter have rotary"movement in the directionieni- 'ployed to close. the door but independent of 40 any. further: movement otthe; said door. I

A" still-further object of my invention is .toproyidei a flexible connection; between an operating shaft and drop vdoor which will :directly support vthe: ,same' irom] the shaft when the door is openp a My invention further gresides in tho siinple -.means Oll OI'I constituting parts of thedoor to rigidity the sa-me. and eliminate warping and 1 distortionthereof; in; order that, the op- 'er'ati-ng me,c-ha n ism;rn ayatualltimes proper- 1y engage the doors and assnre effective vclosure thereof.

v -This invent-ion r further consists --;in the .novel combinations of the parts and devices j-ec't matter of the claims.

herein shown, described. and made the sub- In the drawings forming a. part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan View of a portion of a drop bottom gondola car showing my improvements in connectiointhere with, parts being broken awayflto' more clearly illustrate some of the features. QF-ig ure 2 is a sectional .eleva'tional viewf"o'fla portion ofthe car, taken on a l'inecorrespending substantially to the line '-2 '2' or Figure 1. Figure?) 'is a. verti sectional. View taken snbsftantially on line 53 "8 of Figure '1 and illustrating the-pawl and ratchet 1oekingai'rangement for locking'the winding shaft "against {reverse rotation. F gure 4 18 a transverse, sectional iew taken on a line corresponding substant ally to line 4 lofrFigiirefiland showing-the 7 door raising ,and' looking*meohanis'ni" when the door is fully rclosedf' and'lockedg' Fignie .5 is a transverse seet'ional view takenon a line corresponding snbs t antially? toline 55 of Figure- 1 but showingjt-he" doo'iyin open position and depending from the-- winding sha ftj "Fign' e 6 is a detail sectional View similar to Figi re 4;; exceptthat the door is 'fshoivn in partially opened:p'ositi'on and the door and assooiate dfljarts of the mechanism are shown in indifferent ,re'lationysnch as fwil'l hereinafter be fulljz explained." Figure 7 is a 'detail'seetioiia-lview ofth'e enter end of j thedoorf and associated"parts 'o-fjth'e niechanisin taken. on line corresponding substantially to lineY-? o'f'Fig'ure l In ,said illustration; "the flexible" connection extending betweenthe dooriandsha t'thas been 'omittedin; order tosh'o-W more" cl-early the lockingacti'on" between; the "shaft ant the door When/the latter is: closed} Figure '8" is a' detail. sect onal View similar to Figure 7,

except thatjthe gdojorfisshown innjpart F] opened pos tion and illustrat ng the? seine anclassoc ated parts 111", a; difi'erent relation,

such as; will hereinafter be fully explained. LJR'eferring now to; the; 1 drawings, wherein the mechanism is shown as applied to drop bottom door oarf'of Well kn f 'in f rm,fhaving,

l generally, a plurality endors On a'cll side of the center sill', the number jof" which may be ,vari'ed; I have' illiis'trated only such doors L a's it is evident jthatf'the embodiment of the i vent o s, th sem em y iyith' one or-inore doors. 'fThe' fcar, as shot-"11,

is provided with. a center sill 1.0, crossbeams 11, side Slll 12, side wall 13, and crossbeam covers 14. The floor adjacent the front edge of the door is indicated at 15 and the floor :djacent the rear edge of the door at 16, while a metallic plate is provided, as at 17 for the purpose of sealing the opening betiv'een the rear edge of the dump door and floor 1 6 The door 18 is pivotally mounted .tlong its inner edge on hinge pivots 19 which are carried hingebrackiste 20 secured to the center sill 10. The said door 18 is re inforced by means of sections 21, preferably formed of angles, which extend lengthwise of the door from the hinged end of the same to the free end thereof, being bent as at 22 to present a transversely widened space adjacent the free end of the door. A transversely disposed member 23 extends preferably in parallelism with the front edge of the door and also preferabl is in the form of an angle. Both of saic angles 21 and angle 23 have their horizontal flanges preferably directed inwardly andmitered as indicated at 24, said horizontal flanges being secured to the door boards 25 by means of bolts or rivets 26 and brackets 27 unite the vertical flange of each angle 21 with the ver tical flange of angles 23. One of said brackets is disposed at each corner of the door and rovided with angularly disposed flan es indicated at 28 and 29 whereby connections are established With angles 21 and 23, respectively. Said angularly related flanges 28 and 29 are connected by means of a baseportion or Wall which preferably extends beneath the angles 21 and 23 and serves to greatly rigidify the door framework and prevent distortion of the same. Beneath the said horizontal wall 30 are a plurality of vertical webs 31 and 32 spaced apart a sufficient distance to accommodate the flexible element 33 which may be a chain or other suitable flexible connection. Said flexible connect-ion is attached at one end to the shaft 34 in the manner hereinafter described, and the other end thereof is fitted with a threaded eyebolt 35 which passes through transverse Walls 36-36 connecting the aforesaid walls 31 and 32 of the bracket 27, said walls 31 and 32 being further connected by means of a wall 37 which extends upwardly and preferably of arcuate form providing a bearing for the flexible connection 33. Adjacent the flange 31 of the bracket 27, there is formed an extension 38 which preferably extends outwardly beyond the side edge of the door and also beyond the free edge thereof, the under surface 39 being preferably flat and constituting a shoe extending at such an angle to the plane of the door as to be substantially tangent to an arc struck from the axis of the shaft 34, the said shoe being adapted to have co-operating engagement With a supporting member 45 carried by the shaft. During the opening and closing operations of the door, the nose or extreme edge of the bracket 38 must clear the shaft and is slightly curved as indicated at 40 andslopes upwardly and away from the shaft as indicated at 41 in order to prevent fouling between the door and shaft. The bracket portion 38 is braced to the vertical flange 28' by means of a triangular, horizontally extend;-

ing wing as indicated at 42. I

The door supporting shaft 34 is located adjacent the free edge of the dump doorgsan'd out of the path thereof, passing through apertures which are formed in the ends the crossbeams 11. Bearing castings reinforce the crossbeams around the aforesaid apertures and each is provided with a bear ing ortion 44 within which the shaft rotata ily mounted. Door supporting members 45 are rigidly mounted on the shaft 34, being preferably disposed near each corner of the door. The door supporting members may be keyed to the winding shaft as indicated at 45", and also bolted to the shaft as in -dicated at 45*, to prevent shifting of same lon gitudinally of the shaft. Each of said supporting members 45 is provided with a plurality of walls 4646 spaced apart to receive the terminal link of one end of the flexible connection 33 which is thus secured to the shaft by a pin 47 passing throughboth walls 4646 and the said terminal link. The portion of the supporting member 45 to which the flexible connection is secured, is preferably disposed to one sideof the door and the member is there formed with a winding sheave and provided With a guide- Way 48 adapted to guide the flexible element as it Winds on the sheave and, inasmuch as. the preferred construction is to secure the flexible connection to the door at an appreciable distance inwardly from the side edge thereof, said flexible connection is adapted to wind on the shaft partly outwardly of the: plane defined by the adjacent side edge of the door and partly inwardly of such plane- The flexible element 33 is adapted to wind partly on the sheave portion of the member and partly on the periphery of the shaft, the aforesaid guideway 48 extending w-irally from a point adjacent a side edge of the door to a point in the plane of movement thereof, it being understood that the sheave portion of greatest diameter is preferably disposed to one side of the door and the por tion of reduced diameter in the plane of movement of the said door. As above indicated, the flexible element winds partly on the sheave and partly on the shaft, the diameter of the sheave portion of the winding member cecreasing until such time as it merges with the periphery of the shaft as indicated at 49. Intermediate the convolutions of the flexible element, the Winding member ees-177 e is provided with door supporting seat-, 'said"Figure 6-by b, is'of a greater lcngth'than seat in this case being a shoulder 50,- prefe'rably formed ofarcuateshape and 1 also preferably concentric w'vith' the axis-of rotation of the shaft.-' Said shoulder"50,which is disposed in alignment with the inclined face 39 on the door is adapted to cooperate with the same to retain and lock the door in =close-d position andmay preferably be formed int grally'with the winding member extending laterally therefromand braced -thereto by means of a-plurality of ribs.

t will be noted that in this particularapvpl ication of the'improved.mechanism, the

' guideway V pointwvhere the sheave merges w1t h::the shaft a vdoes not extend beyond the and in order to positively insure that vthe flexible. element .will be 1 properly guided from one side OI the shoulder to the opposite side thereof, "reliance 1s placed on cthe wall 31 which also operates'toprevent the 1 said-flexible element frontslipping sidewise i from the ledge 37 when-the doors are open.

-Any suitable means for rotatingthe sliaft may be provided but a: preferred: construction consists of pawl and lever mechanism of the type illustrated- 111 U S. Patentwh o.

1,28 t,O56'-granted to Argyle Campbell; No-

vember 5,1918. The means employed to prevent'reverse rotation of the shaft preferably -oonsist of alocking ratchet Wheel51, nonshown at 52 in :Figure 3 and'the aforesaid pawl is pivotally mounted on a bracketbe secured to the car framework. A docking cam 55, also pivotally mounted-on thebracket I 54, is adaptedto be moved iii-the path of a portion of-pawl 53 to-lock the same in position.

-Assuming the parts asshown in Figure 5 with the doorsin opened vposition and supported "directly from the shaft 3 l=bymthe flexible elements, free of the ;rail. 56, the

;- shaft 34 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed. in Figure 5.1 Asthis rotation occurs, itis evident that the flexible.

. elements will wind on th-esheave members,

vraising the .door.

of the shaft. shaft further raises the doorand onthesec- During the initiallrotation of the shaft, the shoulder 50 travels in the path ofthe door but above the same-,it fibeingunderstood that the length; of ,the

flexible element so adjusted that the door does 'not raise sufiiciently to be engaged by the said shoulder during the first revolution Continued rotation of" the 0nd turn ofithe shaft the rounded corner 57 of theshoulder- 50 engages the inclined -face 39 on the door as shown in Figure 6- and inasmuch as athe effective. lever arm? now the effectivelever arm from the arcisof the shaft'tothec'ent'er of the flexible element as indicated by a, it is evid-ent'that'th e flexible element is now relieved'of' the load of the door, which is now carried by the shoulder 50. The relation between the respective co-operating engaging faces, on the doorlifting member and the door is shownin Figure S-Where the door closing operation is slightly 1 more advanced than shown in Figure 6.. The relative position of the parts with the door "in locked position is indicated in Figure 7 wherein the flexible element has been omitted to more clearly show the lockin action. WVith the shaft in such position, the dooris positively secured in locked position for "while the point'ofengagement between the door supporting member on "the shaft and the door itself is located at a distance '0 y from the axis of the shaft, the cooperating 'siiirfaces'onthe shaft and door respectively "are soarranged as to'counteract any turning V tendency due to this' leverarn'l. To this-end, the-surface-39 on the door is arra'ngedto "concentrate the load atla single point, through-the line -cZ--which passes through E the axisofthe'shaftL Said line cl is-the *"resultantof the combined-vertical andhori- *zontal forces as indicated by the lines f and a respectively. WV'ith this arrange- -menty it will be seen'that the horizontally acting forceas represented by the line a counteracts the turning movement on the 'shaftdue-to the aforementioned lever arm ',"0"" and therefore the mechani/nn is self-lock- :fliing; v

"Asalready-pointed out, at a certain point in the door liftingoperation, the flexibleelcm'ent is'melieved of the weight of the door (which has theeffect of causing a differential-travel betweenthe door and the flexible element 'providing:for a limited amount of =slackness in-the latter. Such slackness in ithe'flexible. element is taken up at the end :dof the doorzclosing operation, making it possible to bring-'the 'd'oor to a fully closed posi- 1tion'aand thereafter-permits the giving of the ashaft arfurther partial turn without any 'resul-tantlifting movement of the door; thus a de 'ree of free movement of the shaft, ina b dependent ofzmovement of thedoor, assures "positrve locking at all points of a door or a series .ofdoors and also renders it uuneces wsaryto stop thesshaft when the locking pawl 53 is midway between two teeth of the ratchet wheel 51, even though the door is w'closed butthe shaft ,may be further rotated ;so that the pawl will be in full engagement with a toot-h'of the ratchet wheel.

{While the-arrangement shown herewith provides vfor an arcuate surface fixed to the :l-shzift and a flat-ssurfacefixed to the door, it his evident that vthis arrangement might be -.'revers e; on both surfaces mightbe made of 1 arcuate form. The arrangement of the operating mechanism and door bracing, as shown herewith, is applied in connection with a door of composite construction, but the same is equally applicable with a door of all metal construction. Nor do I wish to limit the ap plication of this improved door operating mechanism to a gondola car with doors hinged longitudinally of the car as the same is equally applicable to cars having doors hinged transversely of the car, and wherever dump cars are used. 1

Although I have shown and described herein what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely by way of illustration and not by way of limitation. All changes ant modifications are contemplated that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a dump car, the combination with a door; of a sheave having a guideway provided with helical grooves of varying diameter, the largest of said grooves being'dls posed beyond the. side of the door and the smallest of such grooves being disposed in the plane of movement of the door; and a flexible connection between the door and sheave adapted to wind in the said guideway.

2. In a dump car, the combination with .a door; of a rotary shaft; a sheave secured to the shaft; a flexible element extending between the door and shaft, said element being adapted to wind on the sheave during the first stage of the door lifting movement and on the shaft during the last'stage of the door lifting movement.

In a dump car, the combination with a door; of a rotary shaft; a sheave secured to the shaft; a flexible element adapted to wind partly on the sheave and partly on the shaft; and a door supporting seat rigidly secured to the shaft and disposed intermediate the turns of the flexible element on the sheave and shaft, respectively.

In a dump car, the combination with a door, of an operating shaft; a sheave fixed to the shaft; a flexible element adapted to wind partly on the sheave and partly on the peripln "y of the shaft; and a door supporting shoulder of arcuate form disposed intermediate the said turns of the flexible element and adapted to engage the door and retain the same in closed position.

5. In a dump car, the combination with a door; of an operating shaft; a sheave carried thereby; a flexible element connecting the sheave and door, said flexible element forming a direct support for the door when in open position, said flexible element being wholly disposed between the shaft and the door when the latter is in open position and adapted to wind on the shaft to raise the door; and a door lifting arm carried by the shaft adapted to relieve the flexible connection by directly engaging the door and sustaining the weight thereof, the point of engagement between the door and a shaft being disposed above the level of the shaft.

5. In a railway car door raising and locking mechanism, the combination with a supporting framework; of a door, said door having a bracket fixedly secured thereto adjacent the free end thereof presenting a surface inclining downwardly relatively to the plane of the door and towards the pivotal axis of the said door; and a rotatably mounted member, held against bodily movement and adapted to have co-operating engagement with the aforesaid bracket to maintain the door in closed position. the co-operating surface on the said rotatably mounted member being of arcuate form.

7. In a railway car, the combination with a dump door; of a shaft disposed in a plane below the free edge of the door and out of the path thereof; a flexible element connecting the shaft and door, said flexible element being adapted to wind on the shaft to raise the door; a bracket carried by the door and projecting beyond the free edge thereof; and an arm carried by the shaft adapted to engage between the aforesaid bracket on the door and the shaft and relieve the flexible element of the weight of the door. 8. In a railway car, the combination with a dump door; of a shaft disposed adjacent the free edge of the door and out of the path thereof; an arm rigidly secured to the shaft and adapted to engage the under surface of the door to maintain the door in closed position; and a flexible element connecting the shaft and door, said flexible connection being secured to the shaft to one side of the arm and to the door to the opposite side thereof.

9. In a railway car the combination with a dump door; of a shaft disposed adjacent the free edge of the door and out of the path thereof; an arm rigidly secured to the shaft and adapted to engage the undersurface of the same to maintain the door in closed position; a flexible element connecting the shaft and door said element being adapted to wind on the shaft from one side of the arm to the opposite side thereof and passing in the plane of the arm on the opposite side of the shaft thereto; and a guideway on theshaft adapted. to receive the said flexible element and guide the same from one side of the arm to the other.

10. In a railway car, the combination with a dump door; of a shaft disposed adjacent the free edge of the door; a sheave fixed to the shaft; a flexible element connected to the shaft and to the door and adapted to wind partly on the sheave and partly on the shaft, said flexible element being adapted to wind in a guideway on the sheave and having the winding on the shaft separated from the sheave by means of a rib formed on the door and lying between the winding of the flexible element on the shaft and the sheave when the door is closed.

11. In a dump car, the combination with an underfranie; of a drop door pivoted to the underframe, said door having re-inforcing members extending lengthwise of the door and a transversely disposed reinforcing member adjacent the free edge of the door; a bracket ha ing' flanges extending lengthwise of the door and transversely thereof and connected to the aforesaid respective reinforcing members; a rotatable shaft having a fixed pivotal axis adjacent the free edge of the door; and a flexible connection extending between the said shaft and the bracket on the door.

12. In a dump car the combination with an underframe; of a drop door having a reinforcing framework comprising spaced angles extending lengthwise of the door and an angle extending transversely thereof adjacent the free edge of the door and between the aforesaid angles, each of the aforesaid angles having a flange lying against the door and inwardly directed from the edge of the door; a bracket having longitudinally and transversely extending flanges secured to the said longitudinal and transverse angles; a rotatable shaft mounted in the underframe adjacent the free edge of the door; and a flexible connection secured to the shaft and to the aforesaid bracket.

13. In a railway car, the combination with a load sustaining door pivoted along one edge; of a reinforcement for the underside of said door comprising spaced sections extending lengthwise of the door and a transverse section extending substantially parallel with the free edge of the door; brackets at the junction of the longitudinal members and the transverse member, each of said brackets having angularly related flanges respectively secured to the aforesaid longitudinal transverse members, a connecting wall between the angularly related flanges and a section depending from the said connecting wall; a flexible element having one end secured to the aforesaid depending section; a rotatable shaft mounted in the underframe to which the opposite end of the flexible connection is attached; and a seat on the shaft over whicha portion of the door is adapted to extend when in closed position.

14. In an operating mechanism for a door pivotally mounted on a suitable framework, the combination with a shaft mounted in said framework to rotate about an axis parallel to and beyond the free edge of the door; of a flexible connection attached at one of its ends to said shaft and at its other end to the door and whereby elevation of the latter is effected when the latter is rotated; a member affixed to the door at its free edge and provided with a load-bearing surface; and a load-supporting element rigid with said shaft and having a bearing surface cooperable with said otherbearing surface, the two said bearing surfaces engaging just prior to the door reaching its final closed position and at a distance from the axis of the shaft greater than the effective distance of the flexible connection from said axis whereby, upon continued rotation of the shaft, the door is elevated at a proportionally faster rate than the. take-up of the flexible connection and slack in the latter is permitted, said bearing surfaces sustaining the load of the door when the latter is in closed position and the flexible connection thereby relieved of tension. 1

l5. In a railway car, the combination with a dump door pivoted to swing about a flxed' axis; of a rotatable shaft, parallel to the pivotal axis of the door and disposed out of the path of the free edge of the door and located in a plane below that of the door when the door is closed; seating means on and rigid with said shaft; co-operable seating means adjacent the free edge of the door and fixed with respect thereto; and a flexible connection between said shaft and door, said seating means on the shaft being movable to a position intermediate the shaft and door and engageable with the fixed seating means of the door when the door is elevated to closed position by winding of said flexible connection.

In Witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 18th day of August, 1923.

GEORGE B. DOREY. 

